Computer-implemented trademark brokerage network

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method and system is provided for brokering trademarks between trademark owners and potential trademark buyers. The method and system receive trademarks from potential sellers and obtain identification descriptions associated with each of the trademarks. A trademark brokerage database is populated with the trademarks and with the descriptions. The trademarks in the trademark brokerage database are made available for acquisition by potential buyers. Access is provided to the trademark brokerage database for the potential buyers of the trademarks so that trademark queries can be received from the potential buyers related to the descriptions. Trademark query results are generated based upon which trademarks satisfy the received queries. The query results are presented to the potential buyers wherein at least one of the potential buyers acquires one of the trademarks that is in the trademark brokerage database based upon the query results.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to computer-implementedtrademark systems and computer-assisted trademark brokerage businessmethods.

[0002] As the degree of interest and value of trademarks increase, andthe number of trademark applications and registrations grow, the needsof individual trademark purchasers and trademark owners naturallychange.

[0003] Advertising and marketing agencies as well as industrialcompanies and individuals all want instant results and find the processof searching, clearing, prosecuting, and registering a mark to be highlyfrustrating, expensive, and full of uncertainty. Attorneys frequentlyhave great difficulty in clearing marks or finding marks that areavailable for use and registration for their client. Expansive use orfinancial investment in a mark before it has registered is generally notpreferred. Similarly, individuals find the searching and registrationprocess to be a quagmire which more often than not, translates intoindividuals never acquiring a trademark registration. Today's trademarkseekers voice a constant need to change not only the lengthy clearanceand prosecution process, they typically detest the year or two waitbefore ascertaining whether a mark will ultimately register.

[0004] On the opposite end of the spectrum, are those trademark ownerswith a portfolio of marks that are no longer of interest or being used.For example, most marks that were once “hot” or popular eventuallydiminish in appeal and value (unless it is a really “big” mark) and diea natural trademark death by failure to maintain or renew theregistration. This group has difficulty in readily finding willingbuyers for their trademarks.

[0005] The present invention addresses the aforementioned disadvantagesas well as other disadvantages through a computer-assisted trademarkbrokerage system and method. The computer-implemented system and methodof the present invention facilitate the brokering of trademarks betweentrademark owners and potential trademark buyers. The system storestrademarks of potential sellers and obtains identification descriptionsassociated with each of the trademarks. A trademark brokerage databaseis then populated with these trademarks and with the descriptions. Thetrademarks in the trademark brokerage database are made availablethrough a network for acquisition by potential buyers. The systemprovides access to the trademark brokerage database through suitablebrowser interfaces, allowing potential trademark buyers to enter queriesrelated to the trademark subject matter that interests them. Thedatabase is configured so that trademarks are associated withinformation reflective of the registered subject matter (e.g.,description of goods and services and/or international trademarkclassification). This allows the potential buyer to identify offeredmarks that fit the potential buyer's trademark needs. The systemgenerates query results based on the user's query and presents thoseresults to the potential buyers via the browser interface.

[0006] In one embodiment, potential buyers may acquire a trademarkon-line by interaction with the trademark brokerage system. In anotherembodiment, a broker acts as an intermediary, putting buyer and sellerin contact with one another using information stored in the databaseregarding identity of trademark owner (seller) and buyer. The databasemay include a field reflective of asking price and bid price for some orall of the trademarks stored in the system.

[0007] The present invention focuses upon the unique and distinguishableattributes of trademarks in order to build and operate the noveltrademark brokerage system. For example, but not limited to, trademarksare unique and distinguishable in that not all trademarks can beutilized by all people for all or most situations. Trademarks areintegrally entwined with how and when they are used which substantiallycomplicates the acquisition of trademarks as well as the ascertainmentof their value. This coupling of trademarks with their usagedistinguishes them from other property and is incorporated along withother aspects of trademark acquisition in the novel trademark brokeragesystem.

[0008] For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objectsand advantages, reference should be made to the following specificationand to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting the computer-implementedcomponents utilized to perform trademark brokerage operations;

[0010]FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting certain operations of thetrademark brokerage engine of FIG. 1;

[0011]FIGS. 3a-3 b are data structure hierarchy diagrams depicting thedata structures associated with the trademark brokerage database;

[0012]FIGS. 4a-4 b are flow charts depicting the operational stepsinvolved in processing trademark brokerage queries; and

[0013]FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the operational steps associatedwith acquiring trademarks from trademark owners.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0014]FIG. 1 depicts a presently preferred embodiment of thecomputer-implemented trademark brokerage system 20 wherein potentialtrademark buyers utilize computers 24 and 28 to determine whethersuitable trademarks are available for purchase from a trademarkbrokerage database 32. Computers 24 and 28 are connected to a trademarkbrokerage engine 36 which mediates the information exchange betweenusers and trademark brokerage engine 36. Computers 24 and 28 areconnected to trademark brokerage engine 36 via a network, such as, butnot limited to a network which communicates through common protocolssuch as via the Internet 40.

[0015] Trademark brokerage engine 36 administers trademarks which havebeen identified as available for purchase and have been placed intrademark brokerage database 32. Trademark brokerage engine 36preferably communicates with potential buyers through an interactivewebsite 44 or by Internet electronic mail (e-mail) 48. Trademarkbrokerage engine 36 receives queries from potential trademark buyers fortrademarks which are related to a particular goods or services. Forexample, but not limited to, a potential trademark buyer might need toobtain a registered trademark in the very near future (such as, in a fewmonths) for a new clothing line which is to become available in stores.Such a potential trademark buyer would enter a search request atcomputer 24 through website 44 that inquires whether any trademarks areavailable for sale from trademark brokerage database 32 which arerelated to clothing. The present invention allows the potential buyer toexpress the search query by specifying a description of the desiredgoods or services, or by specifying a particular trademarkclassification, such as an International trademark classification. Forinstance, a potential trademark buyer might specify in the descriptionsportion data entry field of the website 44 that the description of thetrademark should relate to clothing. Alternatively, a potentialtrademark buyer may specify that the potential buyer is interested intrademarks which reside within the International trademark class 25which is related to clothing.

[0016] In this non-limiting example, trademark brokerage engine 36determines whether any trademarks within trademark brokerage database 32satisfy such a search request. If any trademarks do satisfy the searchrequest, trademark brokerage engine 36 provides such availabletrademarks to the user on computer 24. Trademark brokerage engine 36 canprovide the search results either by displaying them to the user via aweb page on website 44 which, due to security reasons, is only viewableto the potential buyer at computer 24. The web page also providesinformation related to the purchase of the one or more suitabletrademarks. Such information includes a name, e-mail address, telephonenumber, etc. in order to contact someone regarding purchasing of thetrademark. Such information also includes a preferred sale price for thetrademark. The potential buyer can communicate with the contact personif the potential buyer has questions regarding any of these selectedtrademarks. However, the preferred embodiment of the present inventionincludes a web page wherein a potential buyer can purchase or at leastexpress an interest in one or more of the trademarks automaticallythrough a web page or through electronic mail which activity then isrecorded in trademark brokerage database 32.

[0017] The present invention also includes a novel feature ofintegrating search results from the trademark brokerage engine 36 withsearch results from such trademark searching applications 52 as, but notlimited to, the Dialog® trademark searching application or the Thomson &Thomson® trademark searching application. Trademark searchingapplications 52 receive trademark search requests from a user atcomputer 28 to search for trademarks typically based upon a particulargoods description or services description or trademark classification.Trademark searching applications 52 have access to a trademark database56 for determining which registered marks in trademark database 56satisfy the user's search request. Trademark database 56 typicallyincludes all state registered trademarks, all federally registeredtrademarks, or all foreign registered trademarks.

[0018] Trademark searching applications 52 transmit the search requestfrom the user to trademark brokerage engine 36 so that trademarkbrokerage engine 36 can determine which trademarks are available forpurchase which satisfy the user's search request. Trademark searchingapplications 52 merge the results from trademark brokerage engine 36with the search results from trademark database 56 in order to providesearch reports 60 to the user at computer 28. In this manner, thetraditional search report from such trademark searching applications asDialog® are enhanced to not only include what marks satisfy a user'ssearch request, but also which marks are also available for purchase.However, it should be understood that the present invention alsoincludes trademark brokerage engine 36 receiving search results fromtrademark searching applications 52. Thereupon, trademark brokerageengine 36 merges its own trademark brokerage search results fromtrademark brokerage database with the search results from trademarksearching applications 52.

[0019] Trademarks brokerage engine 36 populates trademark brokeragedatabase 32 with trademarks that are available for purchase. In thepreferred embodiment, a trademark seller's data entry screen on computer64 is utilized to enter, modify, and monitor the trademarks for purchasefrom trademark brokerage database 32. In the preferred embodiment, thepresent invention uses e-mail and web pages in a substantially automatedmanner to notify and arrange for a trademark owner to place itstrademark for purchase in trademark brokerage database 32. Trademarkbrokerage engine 36 determines potential trademarks for purchase byquerying remote trademark databases, such as, but not limited to, theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) database 68 or anInternational trademark database 72. Such queries by trademark brokerageengine 36 include which registered trademarks require renewal or anaffidavit, such as, but not limited to an affidavit under Section 8 orSection 15 of the Lanham Act.

[0020] International trademark database 72 includes trademarks fromcountries other than the United States. In fact, the present inventionis particularly well-suited to addressing the needs of the trademarkcommunity in handling international trademarks. For example, the presentinvention allows the trademark community to acquire a mark or family ofmarks in one or more foreign countries. The present invention may thusallow a company to start-up in foreign countries, for example, for$50,000 rather than for $200,000 which it would take to prosecute andregister trademarks in the foreign countries.

[0021] The determination of which trademarks are in such a stateprovides an indication as to which trademarks are most probable to bedesired to be sold by current trademark owners. The basis for thisheightened probability is due to trademark owners being more likely tosell their trademarks when fees are due in order to maintain thetrademarks.

[0022] Trademark brokerage engine 36 contacts trademark owners whosetrademarks are in such a state preferably automatically via electronicmail. The electronic mail address of the trademark owners are determinedpreferably via establishing an association between the trademark owners'name from the trademark database with e-mail addresses provided by suchInternet e-mail look-up tools as, Yahoo!® or Lycos®. However, it is tobe understood, that the present invention is not limited to onlycontacting trademark owners through electronic means, but also includescontacting trademark owners via such means as by telephone or postalmail. However, such additional means can be automated by having lettersautomatically generated by trademark brokerage engine 36 in order tocontact trademark owners as to whether they desire to sell theirtrademarks. Additionally, it is to be understood that the presentinvention is not limited to only determining available trademarks forpurchase via which trademarks have fees or other trademark activitiesdue to them within a predetermined time, but also includes determiningpossible suitable trademarks for purchase via such other means as, butnot limited to, advertising on website 44 that trademark owners can maketheir trademarks available for purchase via the novel trademarkbrokerage system 20.

[0023] The typical trademark seller might be a corporation with one tohundreds of marks that are not being used or that are being phased outand hence no longer have value to the registrant. A registrant ispreferably asked to sign an exclusive listing agreement whereby apercentage of the sale of all registered marks listed in its databasewould be received. Listing a mark is preferably free of charge to theregistrant trademark sellers who are free to retain their usual counselfor the actual transfer or arrange for the assignment directly viawebsite 44.

[0024] From the registrant's vantage point, the registrations it listsin trademark brokerage database 32 are not marketable and for the firsttime, a registrant has an opportunity to do something with assets thatare sitting in a file cabinet. In-house counsel are invited through thisnovel system to annually purge portfolios by placing marks in thetrademark brokerage database 32, thereby creating the opportunity togenerate income from otherwise illiquid assets. In addition, with thepresent invention's ability as discussed above to readily access dataabout all registered marks which are at certain costly maintenancestages (i.e., due for a Section 8 affidavit within one year or renewalwithin one year), these registrants are invited to consider placingtheir registered marks in trademark brokerage database 32. Largeportfolio owners and individual owners utilize the present invention sothat a large cache of registered marks are quickly developed.

[0025] The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) reports thatthere are thousands of registrations that lapse annually—all of whichmay have appeal if listed and sold. Conversely, many corporations andindividuals would prefer to spend their resources on immediatelyacquiring a registered mark rather than spending those same resources onthe time consuming task of clearing, prosecuting and attempting toobtain a mark that may never register. As shown in the example above,the clothing industry exhibits the problems which the present inventionsolves since marks in that industry typically are only used for a yearor two (the time it takes to obtain a registration) and then discardedfor new marks. The present invention provides the certainty desired bymass producers as well as by others long before a new mark could even be“cleared.” To further enhance the appeal of utilizing the presentinvention to the legal profession and to others, “finder fees” or“rebate”—like incentives for counsel referral, buying and selling arealso utilized.

[0026] An analysis of a trademark's registrant's prior use and the valueassociated therewith is preferably maintained in a secured area of thetrademark brokerage database 32.

[0027] Preferably, the “inventory” or those marks which would beavailable for purchase continue to be owned by the respectiveregistrants. Hence, the overhead costs and associated risk significantlyless than usual and continue to be low since the inventory need not bepurchased at the beginning to generate income.

[0028] It should be also understood that the present invention includesa buyer making an acquisition of a trademark through such legaltechniques as, but not limited to, a transfer of title in the trademarkfrom the trademark owner to the buyer (i.e., an assignment), or througha buyer obtaining an exclusive or non-exclusive license to use thetrademark.

[0029] With reference to FIG. 2, trademark brokerage engine 36 performsa number of operations in order to handle the trademark seller and buyerinterfaces with trademark brokerage database 32. Trademark brokerageengine 36 performs database population processing operation 100 in orderto ensure that trademark brokerage database 32 has trademarks availablefor purchase. Database population processing operation 100 includes theoperation of trademark renewal and affidavit processing 102. Operation102 includes querying remote databases such as, but not limited to PTOtrademark database 68 and International trademark database 72 todetermine which trademarks are ready for renewal and/or affidavitactivity. Database population processing operation 100 includes not onlyinitially populating trademark brokerage database 32 with trademarks forpurchase, but also includes trademark database updates processing 104 inorder to determine at predetermined time intervals what new trademarksmight have a high probability of being available for purchase. Operation104 includes performing the operations of block 102, but also includesdetermining which trademarks have already been processed by trademarkbrokerage engine 36 in previous population operations.

[0030] Trademark acquisition/purchasing processing 106 providesfunctionality for handling the automated transmittal of notices totrademark owners about whether they are interested in selling theirtrademarks. Operation 106 also handles the potential buyer's informationinvolved in acquiring trademarks.

[0031] Trademark brokerage engine 36 includes trademark searchprocessing operation 108 in order to handle queries from potentialbuyers about which trademarks are for sale. Operation block 108 includesa trademark sorter and merger 110 in order to sort the search resultsfor easier viewing by potential buyers. For example, trademark sorter110 sorts the search results based upon trademark classification so thatthe user can better ascertain which marks are most suitable for theuser's situation at hand. Moreover, operation block 108 in oneembodiment includes a merger in order to merge search results fromtrademark brokerage database 32 and trademark searching applications 52.

[0032]FIG. 3a depicts the trademark data structure 150 which ispreferably utilized within trademark brokerage database 32. Trademarkdata structure 150 includes a mark field 152 which contains the name ofthe mark. Moreover, field 152 includes whether the mark is a stylizedmark or for the letters themselves. If the mark is a stylized mark, thenthe field would also depict a drawing of the stylized mark.Identification description field 154 within trademark data structure 150provides a textual description of the goods or services for the mark infield 152. For example, for the mark MILLENIUM MAGNITUDE®, theidentification description is “Clothing, namely, T-shirts and caps”.

[0033] Field 156 includes classification information for a markincluding sub-fields for both an International trademark classificationnumber as well as an United States trademark identification number.Field 158 identifies the registration number for a mark, and field 160identifies the current owner of the trademark. Field 162 contains datarelated to who should be contacted regarding purchasing a particularmark.

[0034] Field 164 includes filing information regarding a mark, and field166 includes renewal and affidavit fee data. Field 168 indicates thecountry within which the mark has been registered. Field 169 includesusage data about how long a particular mark has been used. Usage data isunique to trademarks since non-use of a trademark directly affects thevalue of the trademark.

[0035] Field 170 indicates whether a particular mark is part of a familyof marks. When a mark has been registered in many different ways orclasses, that is, with a different prefix or suffix with other words ordesigns and the dominant portion of the several marks are the same orsimilar and owned by the same registrant, this is considered a family ofmarks. Marks that are in a family may have considerable more value. Forexample, a highly valuable family of marks include McDonald's®, BigMac®, Mac Attack®, Big Mac Attack®, etc. Field 170 indicates whether aparticular mark is part of a family of marks. In the preferredembodiment, a family of marks table 178 is provided for indicating whichmarks belong to which families. The family of marks table 178 associatesa mark's number (such as, registration number) with a family number thatdesignates a particular family of marks.

[0036] Field 172 indicates whether a mark is for sale or for license,and field 174 indicates a preferred listing price and a secondarylisting price. In the preferred embodiment, only the preferred listingprice is shown to a potential buyer while the secondary listing price isutilized by the seller identified in field 162 in order to determine thepermissible price range within which a trademark owner has indicatedthat a trademark should be sold. Field 176 is a brokerage status datumwhich indicates whether a particular mark has already been purchased bya trademark buyer or has been indicated by a trademark owner as notbeing available for purchase.

[0037] Field 176 is used to determine which trademarks have already beenprocessed previously by trademark brokerage engine 36 so that duringtrademark brokerage database updates, trademarks which have already beenidentified as not for sale via field 176 are not repopulated with eachnew update nor their trademark owners notified as to whether thetrademark owners are interested in selling their trademarks.

[0038] Table 179 is provided to interrelate trademark classificationsand whose preferred data structure is depicted in FIG. 3b. Withreference to FIG. 3b, interrelated classifications table 179interrelates trademark classifications with each other so that potentialbuyers can peruse more trademarks for sale. Several trademarkclassifications may hold marks directed to similar goods or services.

[0039] For example, a potential buyer may specify a mark for clothing.The present invention utilizing interrelated classifications table 179informs the user that several trademark classifications are availablefor searching, such as, but not limited to: international classification25 for clothing; international classification 28 for snowshoes;international classification 26 for fabric; international classification14 for belt buckles made of precious metals; internationalclassification 09 for sunglasses; international classification 16 forhats made of paper; and international classification 26 for shoelaces.The potential trademark buyer can select one or more of theseclassifications to perform a search for trademarks to buy. In analternate embodiment, the present invention automatically uses theclassifications which are associated with each other in order to searchthe trademark brokerage database.

[0040] As another non-limiting example, the interrelated classificationstable 179 has interrelated the keyword “gloves” with severalclassifications, such as international classification 10 for surgical,international classification 25 for evening attire. In such a manner,the present invention assists potential buyers to better locatetrademarks for sale whose use coincides with what the potential buyerrequires of the mark.

[0041]FIGS. 4a-4 b illustrate processing associated with populating thetrademark brokerage database and processing related to trademarks beingpurchased by potential buyers. Start indication block 200 indicates thatprocess block 204 is to be executed. Process block 204 receivestrademarks from potential sellers, and process block 208 obtainsidentification descriptions of the received trademarks. Process block212 populates the trademark brokerage database with trademark data andpreferably uses function 216 in order to obtain additional data aboutthe received trademarks via a remote database, such as via the PTOdatabase.

[0042] Process block 220 provides access to potential buyers to thetrademark brokerage database, and process block 224 receives andprocesses trademark queries from potential buyers. Preferably, processblock 224 processes queries related to goods and/or servicesdescriptions as well as related to trademark classifications asindicated by function 228.

[0043] Process block 232 generates trademark query results based uponwhich trademarks in the trademark brokerage database satisfy theconstraints of the query from the potential buyers. Process block 236sends the query results to the requesting computers. Processingcontinues on FIG. 4b at continuation block A 240.

[0044] With reference to FIG. 4b, decision block 254 inquires whether atrademark searching application such as Dialog® had transmitted thesearch request to the trademark brokerage engine. If a trademarksearching application had performed the request, then processingcontinues at process block 258. At process block 258, the trademarksearching application executes a search of its own trademark database inorder to identify all trademarks (i.e., irrespective of whether they arefor purchase or not) that satisfy the user's query. Process block 262merges the trademark brokerage database search results with thetrademark application searching results. Process block 266 presents tothe user the merged trademark search results which preferably have beensorted by function 270 based upon trademark classification.

[0045] Process block 282 permits a user to purchase one or moretrademarks which are included in the trademark search results via thetrademark brokerage computer screens. Preferably, process block 282includes function 286 which allows for purchasing of a family of marks.Processing terminates at end block 290.

[0046] If a trademark searching application had not transmitted thesearch request to the trademark brokerage engine as determined bydecision block 254, then processing is performed by process block 274.Process block 274 presents to the user which trademarks are for purchaseas determined by the trademark brokerage engine. Preferably, processblock 274 includes function 278 which sorts the trademark results basedupon trademark classification. Processing continues at process block 282and then terminates at end block 290.

[0047]FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the operational steps associatedwith the preferred method for populating the trademark brokeragedatabase. Start indication block 300 indicates that process block 304 isto be executed. Process block 304 queries a remote database in order todetermine which trademarks have a renewal and/or affidavit activity duewithin a predetermined time. In the preferred embodiment, thepredetermined time is one year before such renewal or such affidavitactivity is required for a particular trademark.

[0048] Iteration block 308 indicates that for each of the trademarksdetermined by process block 304 which have not already been processed bythe trademark brokerage engine in the past (as determined preferably bya brokerage status datum), the following steps are performed. At processblock 312, trademark owners of such trademarks as identified byiteration block 308 are contacted to determine if their trademarks mightbe available for purchase. Process block 312 preferably includesfunction 316 wherein such trademark owners are contacted automaticallyvia e-mail.

[0049] At process block 320, if a trademark owner is willing to have atrademark available for purchase, the trademark is placed in thetrademark brokerage database. If desired, process block 324 obtainsadditional information regarding the trademark by querying remotedatabases so that such information as filing date and goods and servicesidentification descriptions can be obtained. Preferably process block324 queries the remote databases based upon trademark registrationnumbers. Iteration completion block 328 determines whether any moretrademarks as determined by iteration block 308 need to be processed byprocess blocks 312, 320, and 324. If processing is complete for all suchtrademarks, then processing terminates at end block 332.

[0050] While the invention has been described in its presently preferredform, it is to be understood that there are numerous applications andimplementations for the present invention. Accordingly, the invention iscapable of modification and changes without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as set forth in the appended claims.

It is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented method for brokeringtrademarks, comprising the steps of: receiving trademarks from potentialsellers; obtaining identification descriptions associated with each ofsaid trademarks; populating a trademark brokerage database with saidtrademarks and said identification descriptions, said trademarks in saidtrademark brokerage database being available for acquisition bypotential buyers; providing access to said trademark brokerage databasefor said potential buyers of said trademarks; receiving from saidpotential buyers trademark queries related to said identificationdescriptions; generating trademark query results based upon whichtrademarks satisfy said received queries; and presenting said queryresults to said potential buyers, wherein at least one of said potentialbuyers acquires one of said trademarks that is in said trademarkbrokerage database based upon said query results.
 2. The method of claim1 further comprising the steps of: receiving trademark registrationnumbers from said potential sellers, said trademark registration numbersbeing indicative of said trademarks; querying a remote database todetermine said identification descriptions associated with saidtrademark registration numbers; receiving from said remote database saididentification descriptions for said trademarks; and populating saidtrademark brokerage database with said identification descriptions thatare received from said remote database and with said trademarkregistration numbers.
 3. The method of claim 2 further comprising thesteps of: querying a remote database to determine trademarkclassifications associated with said trademark registration numbers;receiving from said remote database said trademark classifications forsaid trademarks, said trademark classifications being indicative of saididentification descriptions; populating said trademark brokeragedatabase with said trademark classifications and said identificationdescriptions received from said remote database; receiving from saidpotential buyers trademark queries related to said trademarkclassifications; generating trademark query results based upon whichtrademarks satisfy said received trademark classification queries; andpresenting said trademark classification query results to said potentialbuyers, wherein at least one of said potential buyers acquires one ofsaid trademarks that is in said trademark brokerage database based uponsaid trademark classification query results.
 4. The method of claim 3wherein said remote database is selected from the group consisting of aUnited States Patent and Trademark database, a database which containsinternational trademarks, and combinations thereof.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 wherein at least one of said trademarks in said trademarkbrokerage database is acquired by a potential buyer through a license ofsaid trademark.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said potential sellershave title to said trademarks, wherein at least one of said trademarksin said trademark brokerage database is acquired by a potential buyerthrough a transfer of title of said trademark.
 7. The method of claim 6wherein at least one of said trademarks in said trademark brokeragedatabase is acquired by a potential buyer through a license of saidtrademark.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:receiving a family of trademarks from a potential seller; obtainingidentification descriptions associated with each of said trademarks insaid family; populating said trademark brokerage database with saidfamily of trademarks and said identification descriptions; receiving aquery related to said identification descriptions of said trademarks insaid family; generating trademark family query results based upon whichtrademarks satisfy said received query; and presenting said trademarkfamily query results to said potential buyers, wherein at least one ofsaid potential buyers acquires said family of trademarks that is in saidtrademark brokerage database based upon said trademark family queryresults.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of:providing a family of marks table for associating which of saidtrademarks are in said family.
 10. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising the steps of: associating a first trademark classificationwith a second trademark classification; receiving a query from apotential buyer related to said first trademark classification;determining said second trademark classification is associated with saidfirst trademark classification; using both said first and secondtrademark classifications for generating said trademark query results;and presenting said query results to said potential buyer.
 11. Themethod of claim 10 further comprising the steps of: associating aplurality of trademark classifications with a predetermined keyword;receiving a query from a potential buyer related to said first trademarkclassification; determining said associated trademark classificationsbased upon said keyword being supplied by said potential buyer; usingsaid determined trademark classifications for generating said trademarkquery results; and presenting said query results to said potentialbuyer.
 12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:querying a remote database for additional trademarks to sell based upontrademark maintenance data or trademark affidavit data, said additionaltrademarks not being available at a first point in time in the trademarkbrokerage database for acquisition by said potential buyers; receivingfrom said remote database said new trademarks whose maintenance fees oraffidavits are due within a predetermined period; determining at leastone owner of said new trademarks who has indicated that the owner'srespective trademark is to be placed in said trademark brokeragedatabase as being available for acquisition by a potential buyer;populating said trademark brokerage database with said new trademark ofsaid determined owner; said new trademark in said trademark brokeragedatabase being available for acquisition by potential buyers; receivingfrom said potential buyers trademark queries related to said newtrademark in said trademark brokerage database; generating trademarkquery results based upon said new trademark satisfying said receivedtrademark query; and presenting said trademark query results to saidpotential buyers, wherein at least one of said potential buyers acquiressaid new trademark in said trademark brokerage database based upon saidtrademark query results.
 13. The method of claim 1 further comprisingthe steps of: receiving from a remote trademark searching application aquery related to said identification descriptions; and providing to saidremote trademark searching application first query results based uponwhich trademarks in said trademark brokerage database satisfy saidreceived query, said first query results being indicative of trademarkswhich are available for acquisition; said remote trademark searchingapplication querying a remote database for trademarks related to saididentification descriptions; said remote trademark searching applicationreceiving second query results from said remote database, said secondquery results being indicative of trademarks in said remote databasewhich satisfy said query from said remote trademark searchingapplication; said remote trademark searching application generating atrademark search report based upon said first and second query, saidremote trademark searching application presenting via said remotetrademark searching application said query results to said potentialbuyers, wherein at least one of said potential buyers acquires one ofsaid trademarks that is in said trademark brokerage database based uponsaid query results.
 14. A computer-implemented system for brokeringtrademarks, comprising: a trademark brokerage data structure forassociating said trademarks with first trademark owners, said trademarkbrokerage data structure further associating said trademarks with abrokerage status datum that is indicative of whether a trademark is ableto be acquired from the respective first owner of said trademark; atrademark brokerage database connected to said trademark brokerage datastructure for storing said trademark data structure; a trademarkbrokerage engine connected to said trademark brokerage database forprocessing a database query in order to select at least one trademarkfrom said trademark brokerage database based upon said brokerage statusdatum, wherein a potential trademark buyer is presented with theselected trademark from said trademark brokerage database in order for apotential acquisition of said selected trademark.
 15. The system ofclaim 14 wherein said trademark brokerage data structure furtherassociates said trademarks with a trademark description, wherein atleast one trademark is selected based upon the trademark description ofsaid trademarks.
 16. The system of claim 14 wherein said trademarkbrokerage data structure further associating said trademarks with atrademark classification, wherein at least one trademark is selectedbased upon the trademark classification of said trademarks.
 17. Thesystem of claim 14 wherein said selected trademark is acquired by saidsecond owner through a license of said selected trademark.
 18. Thesystem of claim 14 wherein said first trademark owner of selectedtrademark having title to selected trademark, said selected trademark isacquired by said second owner through a transfer of title of saidselected trademark.
 19. The system of claim 14 wherein said trademarksstored in said trademark database includes a family of trademarks, saidsystem further comprising: a family of marks table for associating whichof said trademarks are in said family, said trademark brokerage engineprocessing a query related to said family of trademarks using saidfamily of marks table.
 20. The system of claim 14 wherein said trademarkbrokerage engine generates queries upon a remote trademark database inorder to populate said trademark brokerage database with trademarks fromsaid remote trademark database, said trademarks from said remotetrademark database being associated with a brokerage status by saidtrademark brokerage engine.
 21. The system of claim 20 wherein saidremote trademark database is a United States Patent and TrademarkDatabase.
 22. The system of claim 14 wherein said trademark brokerageengine generates queries upon a remote trademark database in order toupdate the trademark brokerage status.
 23. The system of claim 14wherein said trademark brokerage data structure further associates saidtrademarks with trademark maintenance data and trademark affidavit data.24. The system of claim 14 wherein said trademark brokerage enginegenerates queries upon a remote trademark database in order to updatesaid trademark brokerage database with trademark maintenance data andtrademark affidavit data from said remote trademark database.
 25. Thesystem of claim 24 wherein said remote trademark database is a UnitedStates Patent and Trademark Database.
 26. The system of claim 14 furthercomprising: an interrelated classifications table for associating afirst trademark classification with a second trademark classification,said trademark brokerage engine receiving a query from a potential buyerrelated to said first trademark classification, said interrelatedclassifications table being utilized for determining said secondtrademark classification being associated with said first trademarkclassification, said trademark brokerage engine using both said firstand second trademark classifications for generating said trademark queryresults, said query results being presented to said potential buyer. 27.The system of claim 26 wherein said interrelated classifications tableassociates a plurality of trademark classifications with a predeterminedkeyword, said trademark brokerage engine receiving a query from apotential buyer related to said keyword, said interrelatedclassifications table being utilized for determining said trademarkclassifications being associated with said keyword, said trademarkbrokerage engine using trademark classifications for generating saidtrademark query results, said query results being presented to saidpotential buyer.